Pith helmet

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Salacot" redirects here. For the original Filipino headgear from which it is derived, see Salakot.
Pith helmet used by the Canadian Corps of Guides on display at the Royal Canadian Military Institute

The pith helmet, also known as the safari helmet, salacot,[a] sola topee, sun helmet, topee, and topi[b] is a lightweight cloth-covered helmet made of sholapith.[1] The pith helmet originates from the Spanish military adaptation of the native salakot headgear of the Philippines.[2][3]

It was often worn by European travellers and explorers in the varying climates found in Southeast Asia, Africa, and the tropics, but it was also used in many other contexts. It was routinely issued to colonial military personnel serving in warmer climates from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. The headdress remains in use in several military services in the 21st century.

Definition

Typically, a pith helmet derives from either the sola or "pith" plant, Aeschynomene aspera, an Indian swamp plant, or from Aeschynomene paludosa.[4] In the narrowest definition, a pith helmet is a type of sun hat made from the wood of the pith plant.[5] However, pith helmet may more broadly refer to this style of helmet when made from any number of lightweight sun-shading materials,[5] such as cork wood, rattan[6] or fiber.[5] It was designed to shade the wearer's head and face from the sun.[7]

History

Origin

See also: Asian conical hat
Spanish military uniforms in the Philippines in 1862 showing the original salakot (right) worn as part of a campaign uniform

The origin of the pith helmet is the traditional

bottle gourd; sometimes inlaid with precious metals, coated with water-proof resin, or covered in cloth.[10][11][3][12]

Salacots were used by native Filipino auxiliaries in the Spanish colonial military as protection against the sun and rain during campaigns. They were adopted fully by both native and Spanish troops in the Philippines by the early 18th century. The military versions were commonly cloth-covered and gradually took on the shape of the Spanish cabasset or morion.[13][10][2][3]

19th century

Soldiers of the French Tonkin Expeditionary Corps in 1885, with two soldiers wearing pith helmets and another wearing a conical hat

The salacot design was later adopted by the

Dutch troops, and other colonial powers in nearby regions followed suit and the salacot became a common headgear for colonial forces in the mid-19th century.[10][11]

While this form of headgear was particularly associated with the

Yukon Gold Rush
of 1898.

European officers commanding locally recruited indigenous troops, as well as civilian officials in African and Asian colonial territories, used the pith helmet. Troops serving in the tropics usually wore pith helmets. However, on active service, they sometimes used alternatives such as the wide-brimmed

Boer War
.

Within the British Empire

The salacot was most widely adopted by the

British India, who originally called them "planters' hats". They began experimenting with derivative designs for a lightweight hat for troops serving in tropical regions. This led to a succession of designs, ultimately resulting in the "Colonial pattern" pith helmet and later designs like the Wolseley pattern.[10][17]

A colonial pattern helmet used by the Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment

Originally made of pith with small peaks or "bills" at the front and back, the British version of the helmet was covered by white cloth, often with a cloth band (or puggaree) around it, and small holes for ventilation. Military versions often had metal insignia on the front and could be decorated with a brass spike or ball-shaped finial. Depending on the occasion, the chinstrap would be either leather or brass chain. The base material later became the more durable cork, although still covered with cloth and frequently referred to as a "pith" helmet.

During the Anglo-Zulu War, British troops dyed their white pith helmets with tea, mud, or other makeshift means of camouflage.[18] Subsequently, khaki-coloured pith helmets became standard issue for active tropical service.

Colonial pattern

Sun helmets made of pith first appeared in India during the

Zulu War of 1878–79, and subsequent campaigns in India, Burma, Egypt, and South Africa.[19]
This distinctively shaped early headwear became known as the Colonial pattern helmet.

The British Colonial pattern pith helmet, in turn, influenced the designs of other European pith helmets, including the Spanish and Filipino designs, by the latter half of the 19th century and the early 20th century.[10]

Wolseley pattern
A 1902 pattern Wolseley-style pith helmet used by British imperial forces

The Wolseley pattern helmet is a distinctive British design developed and popularised in the late 19th and early 20th century. It was the official designation for the universal sun helmet worn by the British Army from 1899 to 1948 and described in the 1900 Dress Regulations as "the Wolseley pattern cork helmet". It is named after Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley.[20] With its swept-back brim, it provided greater protection from the sun than the old Colonial pattern helmet. Its use was soon widespread among British personnel serving overseas and some Canadian units.[21] It continues to be used by the Royal Marines, both in full dress as worn by the Royal Marines Band Service and in number 1 dress ("blues") on certain ceremonial occasions.

Home Service helmet

At the same time, a similar helmet (of dark-blue cloth over the cork and incorporating a bronze spike) had been proposed for use in non-tropical areas. The British Army formally adopted this headgear, which they called the Home Service helmet, in 1878 (leading to the retirement of the shako). Most British line infantry (except fusilier and Scottish regiments) wore the helmet until 1902, when the khaki Service Dress was introduced. It was also worn by engineers, artillery (with a ball rather than a spike), and various administrative and other corps (again with a ball rather than a spike). The cloth of the helmet was generally dark blue, but a green version was worn by light infantry regiments and grey by several volunteer units. With the general adoption of khaki for field dress in 1903, the helmet became purely a full dress item, being worn as such until 1914.[22]

Home Service helmet of the Royal Irish Regiment, c. 1878

It returned to use by regimental bands and officers attending levees in the inter-war period and is worn by regimental bands of British Army line infantry regiments to the present day.

The design of the Home Service helmet closely resembles the traditional custodian helmet worn since 1869 by several police forces in England and Wales. Black helmets of a similar shape were also part of the uniform of the Victoria Police during the late 19th century. The US Army also wore blue cloth helmets of the same pattern as the British model from 1881 to 1901 as part of their full-dress uniform. The version worn by cavalry and mounted artillery included plumes and cords in their respective service branches' colours (yellow or red).

20th century

Military use

Before the

First World War by British, Belgian, French, Austrian-Hungarian, and German troops fighting in the Middle East and Africa. A white tropical helmet was issued to personnel of the French Navy serving in the Red Sea, Far Eastern waters, and the Pacific between 1922 and the 1940s.[23]

During the 1930s, the locally recruited forces maintained in the Philippines (consisting of the army and a gendarmerie) used sun helmets mostly made out of compressed coconut fiber called "Guinit". The Axis Second Philippine Republic's military, known as the Bureau of Constabulary, and guerrilla groups in the Philippines also wore this headdress.

Spanish officers wearing pith helmets and rayadillo breeks in the Spanish protectorate in Morocco, 1912

Before the

Pacific Theater.[24]

Afrika Corps
during World War II

In the

cocked hats.[25]

George Orwell, commenting on the unproblematical use of slouch hats by Second World War British troops rather than the "essentially superstitious" use of pith helmets, wrote, "When I was in Burma I was assured that the Indian sun, even at its coolest [even in the early morning, and the sunless rainy season], had a peculiar deadliness which could only be warded off by wearing a helmet of cork or pith. 'Natives', their skulls being thicker, had no need of these helmets, but for a European, even a double felt hat was not a reliable protection."[26] The British Army formally abolished the tropical helmet (other than for ceremonial purposes) in 1948.

The Ethiopian Imperial Guard retained pith helmets as a distinctive part of their uniform until the overthrow of Emperor Haile Selassie I in 1974. Imperial Guard units serving in the Korean War often wore these helmets when not in combat.

American naval officers could wear a pith helmet with the tropical khaki uniform. Most often, the pith helmet was worn by the

U.S. Navy's Civil Engineer Corps
.

Public use

governor of the Gold Coast
wearing a pith helmet, 1953

Through the first half of the 20th century, the Wolseley pattern helmet was routinely worn with

Royal Hong Kong Police Aide-de-camp
to the Governor in a white Wolseley pith helmet with black and white feathers. It was the last occasion on which this style of headdress appeared as a symbol of the Empire.

Civilian use

A 'Bombay Bowler' shola-style pith helmet from the Second World War era

Due to its popularity, the pith helmet became common civilian headgear for Westerners in the tropics and sub-tropics from the mid-19th century. The civilian pith helmet usually had the same dimensions and outline as its contemporary military counterpart but without decorative extras such as badges. It was worn by men and women, old and young, on formal and casual occasions, until the 1940s.

bush jackets
.

At the turn of the 20th century, there was a widespread assumption that wearing this form of head-dress was necessary for people of European origin to avoid sunstroke in the tropics. By contrast, indigenous peoples were assumed to have acquired relative immunity.[29] Modern medical opinion holds that some form of wide-brimmed but light headwear (such as a Panama hat, etc.) is highly advisable in strong sunlight for people of all ethnicities to avoid skin cancers and overheating.

Pith helmets began to decline in popularity in the mid-1950s. For example, they had become relatively uncommon in Francophone African colonies by 1955, despite their former conspicuous popularity among European visitors and expatriates there during the previous decade.[30]

Modern uses

Military and public uses

Netherlands

A dark blue pith helmet, similar to the British Home Service helmet, is worn with the ceremonial uniforms of the Garderegiment Fuseliers Prinses Irene and the Netherlands Marine Corps.[31]

United States

American pith helmets on the ground before a graduation ceremony for a combat marksmanship course in 2010

Throughout the

Second World War, the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, and the U. S. Army developed a cheaper, similar-looking alternative to the pith helmet, called the American fiber helmet, which was made from pressed fiber.[32] Some of the helmets were printed with a camouflage pattern.[33] The two main producers of the US military fiber pressed pith helmet were the International Hat Company and Hawley Products Company. Both companies had originally designed and manufactured several civilian models made from pressed fiber with a foil lining in the 1930s, aimed to be used by laborers who worked in the hot sun, from farms to road construction to other manual labor.[34]

The U.S. Marine Corps pith helmet (officially "Helmet, sun, rigid, fiber") has been used as a form of identification by rifle range cadres; similarly, rifle range instructors and

drill instructors wear the campaign hat.[35]
The U.S. Navy also authorized a plastic khaki sun helmet for wear by officers in tropical regions during the mid-20th century. It was decorated with a full-size officer's hat crest on the front.

White or light blue helmets of plastic material but traditional design are official optional uniform items worn today by letter carriers of the U.S. Postal Service to protect against sun and rain.

Vietnam

Vietnamese soldier wearing a pith helmet in 2009

After the

People's Army of Vietnam of the North, based their helmet design, called mũ cối, on the French pith helmet. Today it is still widely worn by civilians in Vietnam (mainly in the North, but its use declined sharply in 2007 when the motorbike helmet became mandatory for motorbike riders). In design, the Vietnamese model was similar to the pre-Second World War civilian type but covered in jungle green cloth or other colors depending on the army's branches (for example, blue for the Air Force
), usually with a metal insignia at the front. It is considered a symbol of the Vietnamese Army.

Kenya

After the struggles for independence, including the Mau Mau Uprising, Kenya gained its independence from Britain in December 1963, riding the 'winds of change'. In the following year, after President Jomo Kenyatta's election in 1964, the pith helmet became a regulated hat of the uniform for provincial administrators and commissioners, who acted as representatives of the central government overseeing local management.[36]

Originally, in Kenya and other African regions, the pith helmet was perceived as a product of reporters' exaggerations and misunderstood by readers. Travel books and magazines advised Europeans not to engage in outdoor activities without head coverings, claiming that exposure to direct tropical sunlight could cause their brains to deteriorate.[37] While the articles may have been somewhat exaggerated, the pith helmet indeed protected against intense direct sunlight on the savanna, and its sturdy shell and liner shielded the head from collisions with branches in the jungle rainforest. The brim, resembling an eave, also served to prevent raindrops from entering the eyes or forming on glasses. Now, in addition to that, it has been left as a symbol of authority for free Africans.[38]

Commonwealth realms

Several military units still use the pith helmet throughout the Commonwealth.

In the United Kingdom, the

Royal Marine Artillery
), helmet plate, and chin chain.

The Home Service helmet is still worn by line infantry regiments in the United Kingdom today as part of

Corps of Drums, and guards of honour on ceremonial occasions. Such personnel are likewise directed to wear the Foreign Service helmet (either colonial pattern or Wolseley pattern according to regimental specification) when full dress uniform is worn "in hot weather overseas stations such as Cyprus".[39]

Members of the New South Wales Mounted Police
Members of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment
Members of the Royal Canadian Regiment
Members of the Royal Marines Band Service
Commonwealth military and police forces continue to use pith-styled helmets as a part of their ceremonial dress.

Within the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office.[41]

The Royal Gibraltar Regiment routinely wear the white pith helmet with a white tunic (in summer) and scarlet tunic (in winter).

The pith helmet is used by Australian military bands, such as the Army Band and the Band of the Royal Military College, Duntroon, as well as the New South Wales Mounted Police, and the Band of the South Australia Police.

A white Wolseley helmet forms a part of the Canadian Army's universal full-dress uniform, although specific units wear different headgear owing to authorized regimental differences.[42] In addition, the pith helmet is also worn by cadets at the Royal Military College of Canada for certain parades and special occasion.

In the

dress uniform
.

Other countries

In the Dominican Republic, pith helmets with black pugarees were the standard duty headgear used by transit officers of the national police in the 1970s until the beginning of the 21st century, when these units were replaced by the creation of the Autoridad Metropolitana de Transporte (AMET) corps, which were issued dark green stetson hats instead.

In Greece, the Hellenic Navy band uses the pith helmet during its appearances (ex., at parades, when inspected by officials outside of churches, both events held during national feasts, etc.), with the Wolseley type one being used worn with full dress. It was possibly introduced at the beginning of the 20th century when the Hellenic Armed Forces were organized according to the French Army (the Hellenic Army) and the British Royal Navy (the Hellenic Navy).

Members of the Firenze municipal police wearing pith-styled helmets

Modern Italian municipal police wear a helmet modeled on the Model 1928 tropical helmet of the Royal Italian Army for foot patrols in summer. These are made from white plastic with cork or pith interior lining and resemble the British Custodian helmet, though taller and narrower.

Pith helmets are worn by the Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince of Monaco.

In the Philippines, some ceremonial units such as the Presidential Security Group and the guard of honor of the National Police use pith helmets.

They are also used by the King's Guards of the Royal Thai Army when on guard duty; a similar helmet but with plumes is used when in the full dress uniform with the plumes in uniform facings (similar to the bearskin).

White Wolseley helmets are worn by mounted Presidential Guard members in Harare, Zimbabwe, during the State Opening of the first session of Parliament each year.[44]

Civilian and commercial uses

The pith helmet has had a limited comeback in recent years, with their now novel appearance and genuine functionality making the headdress increasingly popular for gardening, hiking, safari, and other outdoor activities. Today's helmets are generally available in four basic types (see below). These have changed little since the early 1900s, except that for more effortless adjustment; the inner headband utilises hook-and-loop fasteners (e.g., Velcro) instead of the earlier brass pins. They can also be soaked in water to keep the wearer's head cool in hot weather and feature an adjustable chinstrap towards the front.

A marching band wearing pith helmets during the Fremont Solstice Parade in Fremont, California, 2013

(i) French pith helmet. This is the most functional of the helmets, with its wide brim providing more sun protection than the narrow-brimmed variations. This helmet is mostly made in Vietnam, where the design was inherited from French colonial patterns.

(ii) Indian pith helmet. The Indian model is almost the same as the French one but with a slightly narrower brim and a squarer dome. It shares with other helmets the ventilation "button" atop the dome.

(iii) African pith helmet, or safari helmet, is a variation mainly used in savanna or jungle regions of Africa. It is generally a khaki-grey colour with the same dimensions and shape as the Indian helmet described above.

(iv) Wolseley pith helmet. This variation of the helmet was named after (but not designed by)

Gentleman Explorers
".

In popular culture

Herbert Mundin wearing a pith helmet in the 1936 film Tarzan Escapes

Over the last century and a half, the helmet has become an iconic piece of apparel identified with western

colonists throughout Africa, southern Asia and South America. It was popularized by Theodore Roosevelt in the first half of the 20th century, and by cinema in the second.[citation needed
] Examples include:

See also

Notes

  1. ^ From Tagalog salakot, corrupted variously in Spanish, French, Italian, German, and English as salacco, shalakó, salakof, salakoff, or salakhoff
  2. ^ The terms solar topee and solar topi are examples of folk etymology elaborations of the sola plant and are not etymologically related to "sun" or "solar"

References

  1. ^ "pith helmet". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  2. ^ a b Alfredo R. Roces, et al., eds., Ethnic Headgear in Filipino Heritage: the Making of a Nation, Philippines: Lahing Pilipino Publishing, Inc., 1977, Vol. VI, pp. 1106–1107.
  3. ^ a b c Antón, Jacinto (5 December 2013). "La romántica elegancia de Salacot". El País. Archived from the original on 3 April 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2018 – via elpais.com.
  4. ^ "AskOxford:pith helmet". Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  5. ^ a b c Suciu, Peter (17 September 2012). "Pith vs. Cork – Not One and the Same". Military Sun Helmets. Archived from the original on 14 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  6. ISBN 0-684-15130-8
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  7. ISBN 1-84415-154-9
    .
  8. ^ Montenegro, Arturo (28 June 2004). "La palabra salacot". Rinconente. Centro Virtual Cervantes. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  9. ISBN 9781844680375
    .
  10. ^ a b c d e Suciu, Peter (17 December 2018). "The Proto-Sun Hats of the Far East". MilitarySunHelmets.com. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  11. ^ a b c Manuel Buzeta y Felipe Bravo, Diccionario geografico, estadistico, historico de las Islas Filipinas, Charleston, South Carolina: 2011, Nabu Press, Vol. I, p. 241.
  12. ^ Garnett, Lucy M.J. (1898). Courtney, W.L. (ed.). "The Philippine Islanders". The Fortnightly Review. LXIV (July to December). Leonard Scott Publication Company: 83–84.
  13. ^ "Vestidos". Enseñanzas de la Campaña del Rif en 1909. Madrid: Talleres del Departmentósito de la Guerra. 1911.
  14. ^ Hénon, Yann-Noël (26 August 2019). "A Salako on a banknote?". Numizon. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  15. ISBN 978-2-7025-0142-9
    p.103
  16. ^ "Military collection of Peter Suciu". Archived from the original on June 5, 2008. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  17. ^ "British Experimental Helmets and Others". MilitarySunHelmets.com. 28 September 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  18. ISBN 0-7137-1469-7
    p. 21
  19. ^ Barnes, R.M. Military Uniforms of Britain and the Empire, First Sphere Books 1972
  20. ^ "Wolseley pattern khaki helmet, 1943 (C) | Online Collection | National Army Museum, London".
  21. ISBN 9781782009061
    .
  22. ISBN 978 0 74780-739-1
  23. ^ Page 346 Militaria Magazine Avril 2014
  24. ^ "Quanonline.com". quanonline.com. Archived from the original on 11 January 2009. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  25. ^ Bates, S. The Wolseley Helmet in Pictures: From Omdurman to El Alamein.
  26. ^ Orwell, George (20 October 1944). "As I Please". Tribune.
  27. ^ 'Dress worn at Court', Lord Chamberlain's Office, first published in 1898.
  28. ^ Gunther, John. Inside Africa, Hamish Hamilton Ltd 1955, p.708
  29. ^ 1911 Edition, Encyclopædia Britannica
  30. ASIN B000Q5VP8U
    .
  31. ISBN 0-71370482-9
    .
  32. ^ Peter Suciu (2014-02-08). "What's In a Name? The Pressed Fiber Helmet". Archived from the original on 2015-07-15. Retrieved 2015-06-07.
  33. ^ Peter Suciu (2014-03-28). "The Camouflage Pressed Fiber Helmet". Archived from the original on 2015-07-15. Retrieved 2015-06-08.
  34. ^ Peter Suciu (2014-11-21). "The Origin of the Pressed Fiber Helmet – In Perspective". Archived from the original on 2015-07-04. Retrieved 2015-06-08.
  35. ^ "Drill Instructor School: Campaign Cover". 2009-03-28. Archived from the original on 2009-06-25.
  36. ^ "African Successes".
  37. ^ "The real governors revisited". 2 July 2020.
  38. ^ https://www.president.go.ke/cartels-must-be-removed-from-our-food-production-chain/
  39. ^ E.g.: "Regimental Handbook" (PDF). www.army.mod.uk. Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  40. ^ "New Governor : 'Challenges are crime and the economy'". The Royal Gazette. 2012-05-23. Archived from the original on 2014-03-20. Retrieved 2014-04-26.
  41. ^ La Guardia, Anton (8 June 2001). "Sun slowly sets on uniform of Empire". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 October 2017.
  42. ^ "6-1". Canadian Armed Forces Dress Instruction (PDF). Canadian Armed Forces. 1 June 2001. p. 211. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  43. ^ "Things to do in the Caribbean - the Bahamas".
  44. ^ "Official opening of the First Session of the Eighth Parliament". herald.co.zw. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  45. ISBN 0-684-15130-8
    .

External links
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